Meet Heidi
Hi, I’m Heidi!
I remember hearing the crunch of tires on the driveway as participants were closing the distance on the final few feet to their retreat house. I wasn’t excited, I was scared, thinking,
“What the heck have you gotten yourself into Heidi? You’ve got these people for a week!”
20 years ago in a few short months I went from stay at home wife and mom to one terminally ill daughter and 3 bonus children to single girl working and going to school full-time earning my degree in Political Science.
I spent the next eight years investing in my personal grief and growth, researching like crazy, trying everything from therapy to energy healing. Most weren’t directly related to grief, but focused on growth – using her deep pain as a catalyst for creating something good.
At the same time professionally, I facilitated multi- faceted coalitions including a 200+ member issue specific group comprised of corporations, small businesses, health care organizations, non-profits and concerned individuals. I also served on a range of non-profit boards from Boise State University Alumni Association to Hanalei Canoe Club President.
Born out of my experiences and passion, I walked away from an established career in health care policy to start ‘Ohana Oasis, a non-profit serving bereaved parents nationwide with weeklong retreats. There I developed and facilitated a professionally reviewed core curriculum for weeklong retreats and four day leadership programs.
Now with my years of experience facilitating a variety of groups from conference rooms to retreat centers, I understand what gets people to lean into the process, support one another, and implement what they’ve learned.
It’s not about the bells and whistles. It’s the focus on intention, treating people like the whole human they are, and their own empowerment that matters.
Back to that driveway….I’d never been to a retreat, much less organized and run one.
What I did know was I had tools that could change lives, and a vision for an experience I wanted to offer other bereaved parents like me.
So I took the courageous steps, one at a time that eventually brought me to that driveway.
It turns out, as parents drove away at the end of the retreat, the week had gone well. Within a month, there were 45 people on a waiting list for the next retreat.
15+ retreats and 10 years later, I’m here for you sharing all I’ve learned, the things that work, the timelines, the many things to consider and how I make each decision with every event. Because each event is unique, never a cookie cutter of the one before.
On the sidelines ready to show you the playbook,
Heidi
Where it all started
From heartbreak to a life full of purpose, joy, and helping others. In this video about the creation of ‘Ohana Oasis you’ll see where the drive came from. I also share a few of the brutal lessons I’ve learned and experiences that formed who I am today.
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